Legislature passes cursive requirements with a tweak

A bill to require students in grades 3-5 to prove they know cursive is headed to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk.

“The passage of this bill brings the great history of our past into the future and provides our students with critical instruction to make sure Florida is No. 1 in education,” said Rep. Toby Overdorf, the Palm City Republican who pushed for cursive writing to be taught to younger students.

The Legislature passed the measure as part of a bigger education bill during the final days of the 2026 Regular Session. The amendment tweaked Overdorf’s proposal so the cursive sessions will start in third grade instead of second grade.

Overdorf filed HB 127 that would have required students starting in second grade to learn cursive. Students would then be tested in fifth grade to prove they can legibly write upper case and lower case letters in cursive 

House lawmakers supported the idea, as they said young people today grow up unable to sign their own name on their mortgage documents.

“If our students can’t read cursive, they can’t read the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution or even a grandparent’s handwritten letter,” Overdorf said during the debate.

He said the reason for the bill is that although Florida students are learning cursive, they aren’t being tested on it to prove they know it.

“But there’s no requirement for proficiency. I can learn about it. The teacher can literally draw cursive on the board. However, I’m not practicing that cursive as a student. I don’t have that proficiency as a student,” Overdorf said.

The House passed HB 127 with a vote 111-0 in early February.

Meanwhile, the identical Senate version of the bill filed by Sen. Erin Grall was never called for a Committee vote.

If DeSantis signs the measure, it will take effect July 1 ahead of the 2026-27 school year.

Sine Die was Friday, though lawmakers will return to finish the budget next month.

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Editor’s note: Florida Politics incorrectly reported that HB 127 was a dead bill for IN SESSION magazine, which was printed before the end of Session. We regret the error.